For a good while on Sunday afternoon, Jon Rahm had as good of a chance as any to win the PGA Championship.
And then, the two-time major winner went from contending to pretending — in the blink of an eye.
His downfall began on the 13th, where Rahm stuffed a gorgeous approach shot on this 212-yard par-3 to 19 feet away. At that point, the Spaniard sat at 9-under par and had already made three birdies on the day. No bogies plagued his scorecard either. But it was here where his putter began to abandon him, turning his dreams of becoming the first PGA Champion from Spain into nothing but that: a dream.
HOW DID THAT NOT GO FOR JON RAHM pic.twitter.com/4rJVlAwKZm
— Mr Matthew CFB (@MrMatthew_CFB) May 18, 2025
Rahm’s birdie try on the 13th looked good all the way, until it wasn’t. His Callaway lipped out in brutal fashion, which left him in disbelief, forcing him to settle for a par. It served as a harbinger of things to come.
This crucial miss kept him one stroke behind Scottie Scheffler, the best player in the world and the 54-hole leader of this championship. But Scheffler struggled on his opening nine.
He held a three-shot lead over Alex Noren — and a five-shot advantage over Rahm — when he teed off on Sunday. But after Rahm made a birdie on the 11th hole, the Spaniard found himself in a tie with Scheffler at 9-under.
Then Scheffler birdied the 10th, which gave him the solo lead once again. Rahm heard the roars from behind him, too, knowing all too well about what was transpiring behind him.
But at least Rahm had two scorable holes in front of him: the drivable par-4 14th and the par-5 15th, two of the easiest holes at Quail Hollow. Surely, Rahm would have to make a birdie on one of those two holes, right?
Jon Rahm’s Epic Fall Begins
Fresh off his miss at 13, Rahm hit a bullet of a drive on the 14th.
“That might have been the best swing of the week,” Rahm said of his 5-wood on 14.
But a lousy bounce off the front of the putting surface kicked his ball into the right greenside bunker. You could see the disappointment in Rahm’s face after this unlucky break eliminated an eagle opportunity.
He took it on the chin, though, knowing that golf is a game where bad breaks come from good shots and good breaks come from bad ones. So Rahm knocked his bunker shot to seven feet away, giving himself a solid birdie look. But inexplicably, Rahm pushed his birdie try, a terrible attempt that did not sniff the hole. He walked off with a disappointing par, leaving Scheffler at the top of the board at 10-under, one stroke ahead.
A similar instance transpired on the 15th, where Rahm pummelled another tee shot down the middle of the fairway. He then striped a 4-iron that caroomed over the back of the green, but like the 14th, he failed to get up-and-down for birdie. Rahm missed his birdie putt from 12 feet away badly to the left, perhaps overcompensating for the push that transpired on the hole before.
Green Mile Ruins Rahm’s Chances
These missed putts only ramped up the pressure for Rahm as Scheffler had two scoreable holes in front of him. And unsurprisngly, Scheffler took advantage of the 14th and 15th holes, separating himself from the field with two birdies while Rahm was left in scramble mode.
“If there’s ever a time where it felt like it was slipping away to an extent, it was not birdieing 14 and 15,” Rahm said after.
“That was definitely the mistake, before, obviously, finishing poorly.”
The final three holes at Quail Hollow are the most difficult on the course. Rahm made every effort to prove that on Sunday, too. He missed his tee shot on the 16th badly to the left. He then pushed his second shot into the bunker that guards the right of the green and failed to get up-and-down from there. Rahm’s 14-footer for par had a chance, but it snapped in front of the hole and brought him to his knees. Meanwhile, Scheffler made a birdie, increasing his lead to three.
“Sixteen was tough,” Rahm said after.
“Even though it was really close to being a good swing, it was just bad enough to end up where it did.”
The same mistake reared its ugly head on the 17th and 18th holes, where Rahm pulled his tee shot into the penalty area on both holes. He finished with a pair of doubles, sinking down the leaderboard and into the abyss. Rahm ultimately carded a 2-over 73 and finished at 4-under overall, seven behind Scheffler. He needed 16 shots over his final three holes.
“[Eighteen] was just rough, right?” Rahm added.
“The same mistake I did on 16 was the same mistake on 18, just different clubs. It wasn’t that bad of a swing, not that far off. The result is horrendous, but feeling-wise it’s not that far off.”
Indeed, Rahm looked like the player who won the 2023 Masters Tournament for a good while on Sunday — at least for the first 12 holes. After struggling in major championships throughout 2024 — he missed the cut at last year’s PGA Championship — Rahm showed flashes of brilliance at Quail Hollow in 2025.
But it was not enough.
“A lot of positive to take from this week,” Rahm would add.
“Pretty fresh wound right now. But there’s been a lot of good happening this week and a lot of positive feelings to take for the rest of the year.”
Rahm ultimately tied for eighth, his second best finish in a major since joining LIV at the onset of 2024. He tied for seventh at Royal Troon last year. But this PGA Championship was no doubt his best chance to win a major since he jumped ship to the Saudi-backed circuit. He played with fire, showed the world why he is still one of the world’s best, and had the golf world buzzing for most of Sunday.
And then his putter abandoned him, which led to a comedy of errors down the stretch.
Rahm’s Putt on 13 the Turning Point
But you have to go back to that pivotal juncture on the 13th green. What if Rahm’s ball lipped into the hole on the 13th. Would he be the one lifting the Wanamaker Trophy? Perhaps.
Yet, major championships are ultimately determined by one particular moment, one result that could have gone the other way. Rahm’s devastating miss at 13 sure feels that way. Had that gone in, the pressure for him to produce a sub-par score on 14 and 15 would have diminished.
Then again, plenty of other issues for Rahm presented themselves down the stretch but as he usually does, the father of three put things in a beautiful perspective.
“I always like to go back a little bit on something that Charles Barkley likes to remind basketball players all the time. Like, I play golf for a living. It’s incredible,” Rahm said.
“Am I embarrassed a little bit about how I finished today? Yeah. But I just need to get over it, get over myself. It’s not the end of the world. It’s not like I’m a doctor or a first responder, where somebody if they have a bad day, truly bad things happen.
“I’ll get over it. I’ll move on. Again, there’s a lot more positive than negative to think about this week. I’m really happy I put myself in position and hopefully learn from this and give it another go in the U.S. Open.”
Rahm will have as good of a chance as any to win the U.S. Open next month at Oakmont, a course that suits his playing style well.
And who knows, maybe Rahm will get better breaks and win another major once more.
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